A couple of small Midwestern towns announced this year that they will be awarded 2027 expansion franchises in the Northwoods League - Dyersville, Iowa and New Buffalo, Michigan. The population of Dyersville and New Buffalo combined equals about 6,000 people, which is still smaller than the next smallest city on the circuit, Traverse City, Michigan. The Northwoods League has proven time and again that they can make their product work even in the most remote and smallest of markets, but these two experiments will certainly put that to the test.
Pardon the reference, but Dyersville is truly employing the "if you build it they will come" approach. The Dyersville Dreamers are going all-in on a permanent ballpark at the Field of Dreams site, piggybacking on the popular MLB and MiLB games that have been held there, and banking on the fact that a small farming town in the middle of Iowa can lure enough fans to make it profitable. The Field of Dreams has been the #1 tourist destination in the state since the movie was released almost 40 years ago, so likely the ownership is relying on a lot of revenue through tourism as well - which has historically been a dangerous recipe for success. The nearest place resembling a city is Dubuque about 30 minutes east. New Buffalo is nestled on the Lake Michigan shore in the southwestern corner of the state, and is even smaller than Dyersville with about 1,700 year-round residents - so small in fact that they're playing at a local high school field. The Dyersville team makes some sense to me since they built the ballpark for the Field of Dreams Game anyways so why not use it, but I can't fathom the New Buffalo team being that big of a draw. The place moniker they've chosen in "Dune Coast" implies they're hoping for a regional outreach, but again this area is primarily known for tourism which isn't usually a reliable formula. Not to mention the area population has been steadily declining over the past few decades. The location does make sense within the footprint of the league, but beyond that I'm at a loss. It was announced a few weeks ago that they will be known as the Dune Coast Quillbacks, in reference to the porcupines that were once native to the area.
Even though the league is adding two more teams, this is technically not an expansion, as the league total should remain at 26 for at least the 2027 season. The Rochester Honkers announced that, after over 30 years in the league, they would be going on an indefinite hiatus due to deteriorating conditions at Mayo Field. I attended a Honkers game in 2009 and even back then it was one of the worst maintained stadiums I've ever been to, so I can't imagine how bad things must have gotten over the last 17 years to finally say enough is enough. The Rox and the Wausau Woodchucks are now the lone remaining of the original 5 franchises. With the removal of the Honkers and the addition of the Dreamers and Quillbacks, that makes for a total of 27, so I can only assume the traveling Minnesota Mud Puppies team will cease operations for 2027 as well, which gets us back to the 26 teams. This league continues to grow faster than I can visit its ballparks, but I'm excited for a future visit to the Field of Dreams with my family.
touch with baseball when his childhood heroes Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, and Jim Gantner retired but the Great Home Run Chase of 1998 reignited his passion. As a student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Erik became involved with the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity. With this group Erik traveled to Portland, OR and Baltimore, MD to work on construction projects and help the group raise $25,000 to partially sponsor a house in Milwaukee. Also at UWM, Erik met Peter Nagel. The two attended their first Brewers game together during Opening Weekend 2003. Despite their failure to ignite the coals at their first tailgate, the two had a blast and were soon making weekly trips to the ballpark. Erik has gone on to several colleges and changed careers several times, and has moved all the way out to New Hampshire, but has always stayed true to his baseball roots by holding part-time stadium usher jobs. To this day he looks back fondly on his incredible cross-country journey.
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